


My Siblings' Keeper

by NilesDaughter



Series: Dragon Age Drunk Writing Circle [31]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Family Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 18:50:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14455572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NilesDaughter/pseuds/NilesDaughter
Summary: Sylvia once promised to always protect her siblings, until the world made it impossible for her to keep that promise.





	My Siblings' Keeper

“Don’t you dare throw that snowba-Maker, damn it!”

“Carver! Language!” Leandra’s appalled voice rang out from the front door of the Hawke household, even as Sylvia laughed so hard she fell over into a snow drift.

“Sorry, Mother,” the youngest Hawke sibling grumbled, kicking a little at the ground beneath his feet.

Leandra shook her head, and then looked to her two daughters. “And the two of you, stop terrorizing your brother!”

“Sorry, Mother.” As Bethany echoed her twin, she hastily hid her frost-covered hands behind her back, fixing her gaze on the ground in shame.

Leandra shook her head once more with a small sigh. “It will be another hour or so before supper is ready. Try not to stay outside too much longer, or you’ll catch cold.” With that, she finally turned back into the the house.

After a short pause, Sylvia finally picked herself out of the snow and looked her siblings. She offered up an apologetic smile to Carver. “We’re sorry,” she told him, as she and Bethany had teamed up against him in their impromptu snowball fight.

His only response was a small huff.

Sylvia sighed a little, but noticed that he at least relaxed a little. Even if he didn’t say so aloud, she and Bethany were forgiven. Now with a slight smile on her face, she moved forward and took both Carver and Bethany by the hand, glad that neither protested her actions. She led the twins to the fence that surrounded their house, urging warmth into her palms to chase away the cold in theirs.

When the siblings reached the fence, Sylvia released her siblings and scrambled up to perch on the top rung. As her legs swung freely, she looked over the village of Lothering, nestled on the hill below them. Smoke curled from chimney stacks, swirling lazily through the winter air. As she watched, she was aware of the twins joining her, each sitting on either side of her. They did this often, sitting on the fence together as they overlooked the village they called home. Many secrets had been shared there, memories of sadness and laughter now associated with that spot.

“Do you think the Templars would teach me how to fight if I asked them?” Carver asked suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence that fallen over them.

Sylvia blinked, and looked at her brother quizzically. “You want to become a Templar?”

He shrugged in response. “Maybe.”

“…Carver, you do know that Father is a mage? As are Bethany and I?”

“I know! I wouldn’t tell them!” he defended angrily. “I just…” He sighed. “I don’t know. I wanna learn how to fight, I guess. I mean, you two have your magic. And I’m just…me.”

“You don’t need to be a Templar to fight,” Bethany reasoned from the other side of Sylvia.

“You could be a soldier in the king’s army,” Sylvia added. When he didn’t respond, she nudged him a little. “But if you really want to be a Templar, I suppose we can’t stop you.”

He smiled faintly at that.

“As your elder sister, however, I am allowed to worry,” she continued. “I’d like nothing more than to see the both of you safe from all harm. As such, I promise to always protect you both.” With that, she wrapped an arm around each twin, and hugged them close to her body.

* * *

“… _I_ know the value of family.”

Sylvia actually took a step away from Carver, as if his words had been a physical slap to the face. He marched past her, his new Templar armor clinking with each step, the sound stabbing deeper into her heart. She watched helplessly as Leandra dropped to her knees with a sob. Though her movements were mechanical and her mind still reeled at her brother’s decision, Sylvia knelt to comfort her mother.

Later, after Leandra had gone to bed, Sylvia dug through the small trunk that held her few possessions. She pulled out the silk handkerchief that Bethany had been wearing the day she had died. The sight of it instantly brought tears to Sylvia’s eyes, and she bowed her head, tears streaming down her face.

She had broken her promise not once, but twice. And it tore her heart to pieces.


End file.
